Test Valley Borough Council is looking to give artists a blank canvas to transform public art in Andover.

The council is looking to give a Hampshire-based arts organisation the opportunity to review public artworks in the town, and propose new pieces of art as part of the Andover Masterplan. There’s not much time to apply, however, with applications closing within the week.

The new works are to be placed in the Town Mills Riverside Park and the surrounding area, which is due to open later this year. In the future, the park is intended to join with a new riverside quarter taking up the western boundary of the town centre.

Councillor Phil North, the leader of the borough council, said the art “will be a wonderful asset for the town” as they called for applications.

The Town Mills Riverside Park is the first component of the Andover Masterplan, and will see the road alongside Wilko removed, and a park created in its place. Eventually, this green space could extend continuously up to Andover College when joined with other parts of the masterplan.

Work is currently underway to finish the park, with roadworks and planting taking place.

To supplement the new green space, the council wants to beautify the area with new public artwork, while also taking the opportunity to review the art that is already present. The community art project will be entirely funded by developer contributions.

Test Valley Borough Council aims to position one of the new pieces of public artwork near to the Wilko building, which faces the river. The location of the second piece will be inside the riverside park, with a view to the design making a functional as well as aesthetic contribution to the new landscape.

To do this, they have asked for arts organisations based in Hampshire to apply to lead the project. The successful organisation will be asked to help the local authority creatively engage with residents and stakeholders to learn more about people’s views of current artwork in the town and then use feedback from these public consultations to propose ideas for two new public art commissions.

Leader of Test Valley Borough Council, Councillor Phil North, said “The Town Mills redevelopment is really coming together and will mark the first step towards the total transformation of Andover town centre, following the launch of the masterplan for Andover last year.

“Our goal for this project is to create a space that can be enjoyed by all and encouraging the community to help develop two new pieces of artwork for the park is such a fantastic way to bring people together and let them be a part of the future of Andover. This will be a wonderful asset for the town that residents, visitors and people of all ages will be able to enjoy for years to come.”

To apply, interested parties should visit: https://www.testvalley.gov.uk/communityandleisure/artsandculture/publicart/public-art-commissions

Applications must be submitted by 12noon Tuesday 16 February 2021 and emailed to fperkins@testvalley.gov.uk.